Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Rothko Paintings And Basquiat Paintings

By Darren Hartley


Rothko paintings are abstract expressionist pieces, well known for their images featuring large and luminous color blocks. Mark Rothko is most well known for the forms, figures and great color creation he delivered in the many paintings he created.

The orientation of the first abstract Rothko paintings was towards social themes with expressionist and surrealist undertones. Max Weber, who provided Mark with first hand knowledge and enthusiasm for European modernism, influenced Mark's output as evident in the subjects he chose. Another influential artist in the life of Mark Rothko was Marc Chagall.

The urban scenes and landscapes were often focal points for Rothko paintings. Figurative works were also part and parcel of these creations. Showcasing an expressive side to the art of Mark was his rough application of paint, a technique would later be the distinctive style for which he would become most known for during the course of his artistic career.

It is an often intricate and complex journey through a maze of references that Basquiat paintings are known for. This journey often times made little rational sense, but nonetheless, fell appear to have a reason for existence. Basquiat paintings are mesmerizing, dense and full as their subjects range from the inner city kids' game called skellys to Sugar Ray Robinson, Miles Davis and Da Vinci.

Taking primacy in Basquiat paintings are actual words, etched in scrawl. Colliding with iconic images of crowns and skulls, they are considered perfectly placed streams of consciousness. A patron can get lost in this collision for hours on end. They prove to be a bit less dark than some of the later works of the artist.

Basquiat paintings take his patrons into the mind of a prodigal genius with flashes of an early style. Always present in these works is the ubiquitous trademark crown as well as the black background and mirrored images, boxers and skulls. The early Basquiat drawings hold the key to all his work, numbering to more than 2,000 from the ages of 19 to 27.




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